The character first appeared on November 18, 2009 being portrayed by actress, Julie Mond but was quickly replaced with Brianna Brown, who debuted in January 2010 following a change in storylines. She was then killed off in 2011.

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Casting

It was announced in October, 2009 that daytime newcomer, Julie Mond, was cast in the role of Lisa Niles, the ex-girlfriend of Patrick Drake.

Mond first appeared on November 18, 2009. In December of that year, it was announced that Mond was let go from the series as the character would be taken in a new direction, and her storyline would be altered.

She was replaced by Brianna Brown, who first appeared in the role on January 6, 2010.

Brown said of how she got the role, "I was very fortunate. I didn’t have to audition. I was offered the role because of previous work that I’d done and because I was up for a role on Guiding Light long ago. I ended up not taking it at that time but ironically it was the same casting director — Mark Teschner. When my representation told Mark I was interested in being on a soap, Mark got really excited because he knew me from ages ago. He showed the reel on my website to the executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and to the head writer Bob and they really liked what I had done. We sat down, had a meeting to discuss the character and they gave me the role in the room! It was an ideal [situation]!"

In June 2011, it was announced that under new head writer Garin Wolf, Brown would depart from the series.

However, Brown started reappearing on a regular basis in September of that year. In October 2011, it was revealed that Lisa would be killed off, as the start of a whodunit storyline on the series.

This resulted in Brown last appearing on October 31, 2011.

Character development

Lisa Niles was introduced in late 2009, as the former girlfriend of Patrick Drake. Her storyline originally consisted of causing tension between Patrick and his wife Robin. This slowly evolved into Lisa seducing Patrick, which received the attention of several media outlets, including TV Guide Magazine. Head writer at the time, Robert Guza said of the direction the storyline was going in, "Lisa is going to get very obsessive with Patrick and we will go into a Fatal Attraction story. This is not a Glenn Close sort of thing. Lisa is not a psycho. She won’t be boiling bunnies. But that’s not to say she won’t be acting out in a big way.

Lisa was never able to emotionally let go of that connection she had with Patrick back in school. When that is resurrected for one night — and Patrick says it can never happen again — she tries very hard to accept that. And she fails. Miserably. We have a good long way to go with this story — in fact, we might easily get another year out of it. Patrick’s refusal to continue [having sex] is not what sets Lisa off. Rather, there’s a very small psychological event that will happen some weeks later. It gets her very perturbed.”

Brown said about her character breaking up one of the show's most popular couples, "I was warned right away that it was a major relationship that my character would be breaking up. And I was forewarned: 'People are going to hate you'." She also said of the opportunity to play Lisa as more of a villain, "But when I originally signed on, what I was so excited about and why I decided to take the role in the first place was because it was a Fatal Attraction storyline. So I loved the idea of getting to play that. I loved the idea of getting to play a villain because I normally don't get cast as a villain. It's been so much fun. Jumping in front of cars and then blaming someone else for it and drugging people. Who gets to play that? It's so out there!" Brown also said of playing a character that is loose in morals, “I don’t want to say she doesn’t have a conscience, but she bends the rules.”

Lisa's death in October 2011, marked the beginning of a high profile mystery storyline. The investigation of murder gave viewers a chance to try the solve the crime along with the police, and determine which of the several suspects was the real murderer. Jill Farren Phelps said of the plot line, "This is Lisa's worst, most insidious plan yet. And it ends very badly for her. Lisa's death — apparently by blunt-force trauma — will leave every one of the passengers looking guilty. Each of them ends up having the motive, the means and the opportunity to kill her. It's a very cleverly told mystery."

Storylines

Patrick (Thompson) and Lisa (Mond), November 2009.

Dr. Lisa Niles is first introduced as the former college girlfriend of Dr. Patrick Drake. On November 18, 2009, Lisa arrives seeking help from Patrick's wife, Dr. Robin Scopio-Drake with a patient. She is hired onto the staff at General Hospital. She immediately begins to date Matt Hunter but their relationship ended soon after. Fixing her apartment with the help of Patrick obviously brings back old feelings, but she remains subtle. Lisa later performs a miracle surgery on Mike Corbin and on Dante Falconeri, two of Sonny's family members. Lisa also befriends Epiphany Johnson by getting her VIP tickets to a concert. Although infatuated with Patrick, she remains friendly with Robin. Lisa voices her disapproval of Robin's friendship with mobsters Jason Morgan and Sonny Corinthos.

Patrick and Lisa have sex

In early July, while Robin is in Africa, Lisa and Patrick have a one-night stand. He berates himself and declares his love for Robin and his daughter Emma. Lisa tells Patrick she accepts that their tryst was a one time event and that she will keep the affair a secret. When she sees Robin, however, she goes on about Patrick's behavior and hints that something happened between her and Patrick. She continues to torment Robin, going as far as stealing Robin's medication and taking Emma out without permission for an "ice-cream run." The night Lisa returns with Emma, Patrick admits to sleeping with Lisa. Robin tells Lisa that if she ever comes near her child again, she will kill her.

Lisa starts going crazy when she tries to seduce Patrick at the hospital

Lisa goes to the PCPD and talks to Lucky about Robin's threat. She ultimately decides not to have Robin reported and says she hopes things will clear up between them. On August 27, she sees Patrick on the street and goes over to talk to him. He tells her that not only did she ruin Robin's life, but Emma's too. After their conversation, Lisa stands in the shadows and waits for Robin to drive up. As she does, Lisa jumps in front of the car and gets hit. Lisa tells Patrick and the police that Robin tried to kill her, which is supported by her disscusion with Lucky.

Lisa loves Patrick

A while after she recovers, Lisa heads over to Mac's house to spy on Robin, who has been living there since Lisa was hit by the car. While Robin and Patrick say goodnight to Emma, she slips in and meddles with Robin's medication. Due to the drugs, Robin crashes her car with Emma in it. When she comes to, she is in a cabin with Lisa. She blames Lisa and demands to know where Emma is. Lisa claims that she is innocent and tells Robin the reason Patrick slept with her was to get a break from his wife. When Lisa turns away from Robin, Robin pushes her down and runs out of the cabin. Lisa hears a scream and quietly says, "Oh, well. Have fun in the woods."

Later that night, Lisa returns to the hospital, and Patrick and Steve ask what she did with Robin. Lisa tells them she doesn't know what they are talking about and that she was at the movies. Mac shows up and takes Lisa down to the station to question her. She stonewalls him, claiming that she knows nothing. Upon returning to the hospital, she tells Patrick that the event at the station freaked her out. He tells her he understands and that Mac had no right to take her. Mac comes to the hospital and places Patrick under arrest. While in the interrogation room, he and Steve try to locate Robin. Lisa comes in and tells Patrick he can leave due to lack of evidence. Once Patrick and Steve locate Robin, Patrick goes to the woods and saves her. After they are out of the well, Lisa approaches them with a gun. Patrick tries to reason with her and she turns the gun on herself. Patrick rushes to her and attempts to take the gun from her. It goes off, but no one is injured. The cops arrive and Mac makes arrangements for Lisa to be taken to Shadybrook Sanitarium.

Around a week later, Lisa comes back to work at the hospital after being cleared from Shadybrook. She continues to lead everyone to believe Robin is the mentally unstable, but Patrick won't believe her. Robin lashes out at Lisa after one of her patient's charts is changed. Lisa denies having anything to do with it, and Steve informs Robin that another doctor changed it and it was noted on the chart.

On Halloween, Robin, dressed as a witch, takes Emma to Kelly's. When she leaves, the waitress calls after her saying she forgot her coffee. Robin leaves the stroller in the doorway and gets her coffee. While her back is turned, someone dressed as a witch pushes Emma's stroller around the corner. Robin blames Lisa. Michael's friend Abby asks her if she just forgot where she left Emma. Robin swears that it was Lisa. Lisa rushes into the hospital later that night and soon after, Robin comes looking for Patrick. She tells him that Lisa took Emma. Patrick asks Robin if she is sure it was Lisa, and Robin wonders why he doesn't believe her, reminding him that Lisa is the crazy one. In the locker room, Patrick confronts Lisa but she denies doing it. Once she leaves, he notices a witch's hat and calls after her. He accuses her again and she swears the hat isn't even hers. A nurse comes in and tells Patrick the hat is hers. Patrick apologizes to Lisa, but after he leaves, she opens her locker and hides a witch's costume.

Emma's birthday party comes around, but Patrick doesn't go. Elizabeth tells Lisa that even though Patrick didn't go to the party, he still loves Robin and Emma. This infuriates Lisa and she heads to Mac's house. She sees the house is on fire and breaks in. She hears Emma's cries from upstairs and rushes her out. A neighbor asks if anyone else is inside and Lisa tells her that Robin is, but they can't wait for the fire department. She runs in to save her. Robin refuses help, but Lisa manages to get her out. Robin accuses Lisa of starting the fire, when it was actually started by a knocked-over candle and some wrapping paper. She is brought to the PCPD and runs into Nikolas Cassadine. She asks him, as one of the hospital's trustees, to intervene with Robin.
Lisa files a petition to have Robin fired from the hospital.

However, while attempting to inject sodium pentothol into Robin's IV bag, Maxie enters and catches her in the act. She runs out of the room and gives Johnny Zacchara the syringe. Dr. Steve Webber and Nikolas give chase but she gives them the slip. When the cops arrive, they find no proof that Lisa did anything to Robin[2]. Nonetheless, Lisa had no reason to be in Robin's room either way, Steve puts her on probation; her O.R. privileges are revoked, she is transferred to the E.R. so Steve can keep an eye on her, and she will be fired without mercy if she does provokes Robin in any way or even goes near her again. To make matters even worse (for her), the hearing to discuss Lisa's petition against Robin has been canceled, thus ensuring that Robin will remain at the hospital. Later, she meets up with Johnny, who tells her he intends to keep the syringe in case he needs a favor from her.[3] On December 5, 2010, Ethan Lovett comes to General Hospital and tells Lisa that Johnny needs private medical attention. She goes to his apartment where Johnny demands she patch him up, or else he will tell Steve about the syringe. After she stitches him up, Johnny's girlfriend Olivia Falconeri shows up and Lisa leaves.

Eventually, fed up with Lisa's vendetta against Patrick and Robin, and the trouble that the syringe has caused him, Johnny decides to end it one way or another. To this end, he sets up a treasure hunt, leaving several clues for Lisa and Robin to find and see who gets the syringe first. When the clues lead Lisa to rummage through Steve's office, she is caught in the act by Steve himself. Steve easily sees through Lisa's lies and, declaring that he is fed up with all the drama, informs Lisa that she will definitely be fired if the syringe does surface. Lisa turns to Johnny for help, but Johnny refuses and reveals that the treasure hunt was in fact meant for her to finally learn to live for herself and get over her obsession with Patrick.

Robin finds the syringe first and confronts Lisa. Lisa attempts to take the syringe by force, and Robin responds by assaulting her and knocking her down before fleeing to the hospital with Lisa in hot pursuit. However, Robin is delayed from proving Lisa's guilt when Jake Spencer, the son of Elizabeth Webber, is hit by a car and dies on the operating table; in the process, Patrick and Robin finally reconcile completely. When Carly's daughter, Josslyn Jacks, is diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer, Elizabeth is persuaded to let them have one of Jake's kidneys, and Lisa helps with the transplant.

Lisa takes advantage of Robin's distraction to steal the syringe and dispose of it. It is later discovered that Lisa is one of the suspects in Jake's hit-and-run. However, forensics find no evidence that Lisa was responsible, but Mac nonetheless cites her for reckless driving, a charge that he intends to make stick. Patrick confronts Lisa and tells her that he is convinced that she did it and covered her tracks, as she is "the only one of [them] soulless enough to kill a little boy and duck responsibility." Lisa insists that all she ever did was love him, but Patrick makes it clear that nothing will ever change his opinion of her. After he leaves with Robin, Lisa, in a childish rage, shreds a photo of Robin in an HIV handout with a scalpel.

Kristina waking up after Lisa drugged her.

On March 31, Lisa begins another revenge plot against Robin and Patrick, this time planning to kill Robin and frame Patrick for the murder. To this end, Lisa pretends to befriend Kristina Corinthos-Davis, who has recently been hired as a replacement babysitter for Emma and is stressed out over having been waitlisted at Yale, and begins giving her hydrocodone pills, which she passes off as non-addictive herbal supplements that will calm her nerves, and visiting the Drake home while Kristina is babysitting. On one particular visit, she drugs Kristina and bugs the house. Subsequently, she steals Patrick's credit card and makes elaborate and romantic purchases with it while creating screen names for herself and Patrick on a lovers hideaway website to make it appear as though the two are having an affair, and also visits the home while Patrick and Robin are out and takes pictures of their basement while researching home gas leaks. However, Ethan discovers Lisa's actions when he recognizes Kristina's pills as hydrocodone and informs Johnny, who, realizing Lisa is still obsessed with Patrick, warns the latter of such.

Nevertheless, Lisa seemingly causes a gas leak at the Drakes' while they are out, and locks Robin in the basement as soon as she gets home, telling Robin that Patrick will pay for what he did to her when he is arrested for Robin's murder. After covering her tracks upstairs, Lisa goes down into the basement and checks Robin's seemingly lifeless body, only for Robin, alive and well, to revive.

Lisa locking Robin in the basement

At that moment, Mac and Patrick come into the basement, and Mac promptly arrests Lisa for attempted murder; the entire thing was all a set-up to catch Lisa. As it turns out, Robin and Patrick had earlier figured out that Lisa had stolen Patrick's credit cards, and Kristina had informed them of Lisa's visits to the house. Having discovered Lisa's research into home gas leaks, Robin and Patrick waited for her to arrive, and Patrick turned off the gas from outside when Robin entered the house. Finally, Robin has recorded all of Lisa's threats on her cell phone. Lisa swears revenge on Patrick and Robin as Mac drags her away.

At the police station, Lisa calls Johnny and begs him to help her, but he refuses. When she attempts to play on his feelings for Claudia, Johnny merely regards her with disgust. Lisa then espaces and tires to fleed to Canada. However, Johnny's father, Anthony, encourges her to get revenge on her enemys. Later, she sneaks into General Hospital dressed as a security guard. Lisa loads her gun in the closet of General Hospital. She also prepares a syringe with a toxic substance. She returns to the hospital lobby and hovers, surprisingly unnoticed, while waiting to make her move.Patrick and Robin chat at the nurses station about Sam's possible pregnancy. Patrick smiles that Emma is the best thing that ever happened to him. As Steve talks with Lucky about Liz nearby and Maxie and Spinelli return with smoothies, Lisa approaches the center of the lobby, raises her gun and fires it. She asks the scared crowd for their attention. She notices Lucky reach for his gun and orders him to kick it her way and tells the crowd she needs closure. Steve puts the hospital under lockdown, angering Lisa. She orders Steve, Patrick, Robin and Maxie into the conference room, while forcing Lucky and Spinelli on the elevator.

In the conference room, a crazy Lisa smiles that they are going to have a ton of fun. She tells them they are on trial and they will have to stand up and tell her why they were each so terrible to her. Lisa charges Steve with raging hypocrisy and stupidity. She tells an incredulous Maxie she is an airhead, liar, and badmouthed her. Lisa then charges Robin with being boring, self-righteous and delusional. Lisa purrs that the sex with Patrick was completely mutual and he seduced her. She turns to Patrick that he is the biggest offender of all for making her think he loved her. Maxie yells at Lisa to get therapy because she is not the first woman to get dumped. Maxie refuses to apologize. Lisa aims her gun at Maxie, but Spinelli falls from the ceiling to save her. He calmly tries to get Lisa to stop, while Maxie gets in Lisa's face and tells her she is pathetic. Lisa raises her gun and fires, but Spinelli jumps in front of Maxie to take the bullet and falls to the floor.

Outside the hospital, Mac and Ronnie argue about Jason helping the with the rescue. Mac says if Jason takes Lisa out for good, he will pin a medal on him. Lucky walks out, but Mac wonders why he's leaving. Lucky says he's no good to anyone right now. Ronnie implores Mac to act on the situation and stop thinking like a parent because Robin and Maxie are up there. He says they need to get the S.W.A.T team involved. Elizabeth walks out and asks about Lucky. Mac says they need him there or else they might have to take his badge.

After Lisa orders the doctors away from Spinelli, who she just shot, she continues her torment of Robin and Patrick in the conference room. She needles them by asking Patrick questions offensive to Robin. Patrick won't answer, so Lisa turns her attention on Steve to ask about her medical abilities. She also brings up their one night stand and accuses him of keeping her on staff so she wouldn't slap a sexual harassment suit against him. Steve take responsibility for what happened between them. She just wants someone to admit Robin and Patrick were at fault in their situation. Steve tells her she is a gifted doctor, but now her career is over. And for what? Maxie is next on Lisa's list for interrogation. She wonders when she first wanted to destroy her life. Maxie always knew Lisa had an agenda, but she admits she used to be a lot like her by going after a married man. However, Maxie never became a stalker. When Lisa focuses on Robin, Spinelli starts to have trouble breathing and Steve notes his lungs are filling with blood. Dante calls the conference room and instructs Maxie to find out what Lisa's demands are. Lisa makes threats so Maxie tells Dante not to call again. Patrick implores Lisa to put down the gun. He will walk out with her, but he needs to trust her first.

Tears roll down her face as he asks her to put down the gun. She snaps out of it and accuses him of sweet talking her like he used to in college. As Lisa continues to rail at everyone in the room for taking everything away from her, Dante and Jason burst in. Lisa shoots Patrick in the arm and grabs Robin in the confusion. Lisa then tries to run, but Dante tackles her. Lisa lies unconscious, as Steve, Jason and Maxie tend to Spinelli, who is now in shock. Spinelli is wheeled to surgery, as Robin calls for a doctor to stitch Patrick up. Lisa wakes up, grabs Robin and holds a syringe to her neck.

Patrick tries to talk Lisa down from sticking Robin with the syringe in the hospital conference room. As he does, he grabs Lisa. They struggle and she is stuck with the syringe containing drain cleaner. She collapses in Patrick's arms.
Robin and Patrick meet with Mac in the hallway. Patrick says he doesn't know if Lisa made it, but it doesn’t look good because drain cleaner is so toxic. Patrick can't believe how everything spiraled out of control. Mac expresses some disdain towards him, but Robin assures her uncle they have worked everything out. Patrick leaves to get checked out, as Robin fiercely defends her husband to Mac. He smiles and hugs her. He loves when she scolds him, but more importantly, he loves that she's alive. A hospital employee hands Robin some test results. Robin says she has to leave, but tells her uncle they are not done talking about Patrick. Robin returns to Mac at the hub. As they discuss Patrick and Lisa, Steve comes out to tell them Lisa is in a coma and there's no telling if she will come out of it. Mac is happy to hear it because she got what she deserved.

In early September, Anthony visits Lisa several times. On the ending montage on September 23, 2011, Lisa is shown moving her fingers and waking up. Patrick visits Lisa in her hospital room, and when Patrick leaves Lisa wakes up. Lisa soon kills the nurse, when she visits Lisa's room. Lisa takes the nurse's disguise and lurks around the hospital. She soon finds out about Matt's celebration, and plans to wreck the party. Lisa gets on the boat, kills the captain, and disguises herself. Lisa sneaks around the boat, and has an encounter with Elizabeth. Lisa drugs Elizabeth, and throws her overboard. Lisa, then finds Robin and Patrick: she drugs them and Lisa plans to take Robin's infected HIV blood, and infect it into Patrick. Lisa almost does, but Robin attacks her and runs off. Lisa, then disapears. Later that night, Robin and Lisa have another fight, and Lisa knocks Robin out. Her body is then found a week later. It is later revealed that Dr. Matt Hunter bludgeoned her with a wrench.

Stole Patrick's credit card number and made it look like they were having an affair [Apr-May 2011]

Attempted murder; tried to kill Robin for a third time by locking her the basement of her own house with leaking gas (Patrick and Robin found out and they set her up so Robin was never in any real danger; she also tried to frame Patrick for it) [May 2011; arrested]